Hey...

[S.J.H.T.]

Hey I own a cat named Smokey, A dog Named Joy, a hamster named Hamilton, and my sister owns a Guinea pig.

[chico2]

S.J.H.T,your cat is just beautiful
Joy looks like a Jack Russell and I know that you will be dealing with a lot of energy,my son has one and now at 10yrs old,she is finally slowing down.
The hamster and the piggie are adorable too.
I forgot:WELCOME TO OUR FORUM!

[erykah1310]

I just love Guinea Pigs, I had 3 when iwas younger and just loved their little whistle sound.
Great looking pets and your cat indeed is stunning.
Welcome

[quincymycat]

The shots are fantastic...I love the guinea pig pics

I soo love Smokey's eyes....gorgeous

Welcome!

[rainbow]

What a beautiful family you have. I love, love, love Smokey's eyes.

Welcome to pets.ca

[hazelrunpack]

Great pics, SJHT!!! What a great furfamily you have! And we didn't even have to whine a lot for pics!

Welcome to the board!!

[BenMax]

Gorgeous pictures of your fur pack.

[S.J.H.T.]

Thanks! Here's some photos of some of the cats that I used to have. - ferals and I very, very, very much regret NOT spaying them. ( I added the not)




the first one's name is Jeremy, the second is Ninja Kitty, and the third is the mamma kitten.

[cpietra16]

I'm not sure why you regret spaying the ferals...I never question it. There are far too many cats dying outt here on their own; and the other reason you want to spay them....you said it clearly...."mammaKitten"....those two words should nto be together. Some cats are far too young to get pregnant.
having said all that...you have a beautiful family!

[S.J.H.T.]

Yup. The Mamma Kitten was the kitten of the Mamma Cat. which is a cat that looks very similar but older. I'll show you the mamma kitten as an adult and the mamma cat as she is to show you their similarities:

that's the mamma kitten all grown up...

and thats the mamma cat, the mother of the mamma kitten.

[BenMax]

By spaying the ferals you have done the best thing ever to prevent the babies from dying of diseases, accidents, or other incidents of cruelty. You have saved the unborn of suffering, neglect, homelessness. You have saved females of territoral male issues, from their pain of birth and the burdeon of nursing. You have saved them from being a statistic in an already over population of unwanted and uncherished animal.
You did the best thing that I would expect any human being of doing, which is looking towards the future and helping stop this mad cycle.
In the big picture..what exactly would you regret?

[Love4himies]

Please don't regret spaying your feral momma, I can guarantee you that if she could speak, she would be thanking your everyday. Female cats are raped by toms and sexual intercourse is very painful as males have barbs on their penises. The amount of energy it takes for the momma cats to take care of their babies and themselves is huge for them, they have no time to just relax and be cats.

And I haven't even touched on the cat overpopulation in North America yet . Cats breed like rabbits and most kittens that are born, die a very horrid, slow, painful death or are breakfast for other animals.

I have yet to have one of my fosters not be happier after they were spayed. Their personalities come out as they can now relax and have some enjoyment in life.

http://www.aspca.org/adoption/feral-cats-faq.aspx

How Does TNR Help Feral Cats?
Through TNR, feral cats can live out their lives without adding to the homeless cat population. “It is very important to have all feral cats spayed/neutered, because it is the only 100-percent effective way to prevent unwanted kittens,” says Aimee Hartmann, Director of the ASPCA Mobile Clinic. “Feral cats are prolific reproducers.”
Furthermore, by stabilizing the population, cats will naturally have more space, shelter and food, and fewer risks of disease. After being spayed or neutered, cats living in colonies tend to gain weight and live healthier lives. Spayed cats are less likely to develop breast cancer and will not be at risk for ovarian or uterine cancer, while neutered males will not get testicular cancer. By neutering male cats, you also reduce the risk of injury and infection, since intact males have a natural instinct to fight with other cats. Spaying also means female cats do not go into heat and therefore they attract less tom cats to the area and reduce fighting. If cats are sterilized and live in a colony that has a caretaker, their life span may reach more than ten years.

[chico2]

Never,ever have regrets for saving kitties lives and spay/neuter is a HUGE part of that.
Ferals and strays have to fight for their lives every day and a kind soul like you,giving them a meal,having them s/n,gives them a chance,a good chance at survival.

I was just thinking this morning,it was -17C,how many animals,fell asleep in the freezing cold not to wake up?
Not being able to withstand the cold,not finding a warm place to sleep

[BenMax]

Originally Posted by chico2

I was just thinking this morning,it was -17C,how many animals,fell asleep in the freezing cold not to wake up?
Not being able to withstand the cold,not finding a warm place to sleep

Chico2 - I had the same thoughts as I went outside all bundled up and grumbled about being cold...suddenly I felt terribly selfish My attention just went out to all those cats and dogs that are suffering every second.

[chico2]

BM,I see kitty-prints in the snow,but have yet to see who they belong to, I am always checking for stray kitties/dogs

[14+kitties]

Welcome S.J.H.T. You have a beautiful family. They look very well cared for. As they should be. Gorgeous.
Could you maybe explain why you regret spaying the ferals? I'm a little confused. Not unusual for that occurrence. It happens regularly. But seriously, if we knew the reason we could reassure you that was the best thing you could have done for them. I thank you and, I am sure, if they could talk so would they.
Let me explain why I say that. Feral cats fight every single day for their survival. If they aren't fighting other cats for a new area they are fighting to feed their babies, fighting to find enough food for themselves, fighting other animals like dogs and coyotes. I can tell you they normally don't survive those last two fights. They are also not the healthiest of kitties because of all of the above.
Just food wise alone a cat needs approx 20 to 30 calories per pound to be "full". An average mouse is 30 calories. For every mouse a cat catches 10 - 12 get away. Not very good averages. Not to add when a mom has a litter she is needing more food to produce enough milk to feed her babies. And then when they get old enough to start eating solids she has to catch even more to feed them too. They get fed first. Her needs come second.
The average age of survival for a feral kitty is 3 or 4 years. Seldom do they make it past 8. Some die before they have a chance to live. For every cat you have neutered you have most likely increased their chances of survival exponentially. The only chance a feral cat may have of enjoying a life past those ages is if they are in a controlled colony with loving people who feed and care for them daily. This needs to continue for the rest of the cats' lives.
There are many other reasons why feral cats should be neutered but I don't want to chase you away.
Welcome again. Please stay around and share some stories. I am sure they will be loving ones.

[S.J.H.T.]

quote_____________________________________________ _________________
and I very, very, very much regret spaying them.
__________________________________________________ _____________quote

Oh wow...Whups...I guess I forgot to put in the 'not' and I never realized it till now... My badddd. Sorry.. Let me start it over,...

I very, very, very much regret NOT spaying them...
....For I know that its bad to not spay/neuter them because they will just breed, and breed, and breed, and breed and so on... and let me tell you this is NOT helping our animal shelter...The last time I was there, about June, they had had 540 something animals put down because they had received so many. They even ran out of room in their shelter. I say the number one rule to breeding dogs and cats is 'don't'.
I know that so many animals are suffering. I think the best thing to do when you see a feral cat around is to build up a friendship with it than, once you can be friendly enough to capture the feral, spay/neuter it then release.
I know that I should have spayed them..Life was so busy that I couldn't have time. We didn't actually WANT that many cats. Infact the only one that I intended to keep was Smokey. If this ever happens again, I will spay them.

[14+kitties]

Thank you for clarifying that. As someone who has had over 60 done in the last couple of years that subject is sort of near and dear to me. Sorry if I came across heavy handed.
Now I have to get to work. Hopefully we can see more of your pets. And maybe we can even help guide you in ways to help fix the issue now.

[S.J.H.T.]

Well, now, because we were going on a longish trip, we couldn't bear any more kittens, so we gave them to the animal shelter...if they are dead or alive, it was best.

[Love4himies]

Whew, thanks for clarifying that

[hedgiemama]

Welcome to the board. What a gorgeous family you have! Your kittys are are just gorgeous, and my roommate fell in love with the guinea pig ( she has one too)

[S.J.H.T.]

Well I'm glad I did clarify that because I was wondering for a second why you were all going like 'What?'. Thanks...